Jack Mackey

John Bernard Mackey, VC (16 May 1922 – 12 May 1945) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British Commonwealth forces. Mackey was one of twenty Australians to receive the award for actions during the Second World War, receiving his award posthumously for leading an attack on against a strongly defended Japanese position during the Battle of Tarakan in May 1945. He was 22 and serving as a corporal in the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion at the time of his death.

Early life Born in Leichhardt, New South Wales, Mackey was the only son and the eldest of four children of Stanislaus Mackey, a baker, and his wife Bridget Catherine Smyth Mackey. After attending St. Columba's School in Leichhardt and the Christian Brothers' High School in Lewisham, New South Wales, the Mackey family moved to Portland, New South Wales, in 1936, where his father operated a bakery. Mackey finished his schooling at the age of 14 and began working for his father as a baker. However, he did not enjoy the work and his relationship with his father deteriorated.

Second World War On 5 June 1940, Mackey enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force, falsifying his age to do so.

The Japanese continued to hold off the attacking pioneers for a further two days before Helen was bombed with napalm, forcing them to abandon the position. Originally buried where he was killed, after the war Mackey was interred at Labuan War Cemetery. Mackey's VC was presented to his sister, Patricia, and was later donated to the Australian War Memorial, where it is now on display in the Hall of Valour.